Animals Teaching Resources
Explore animal life in your science classroom with printable worksheets, classroom posters, and more teaching resources all about the different types of animals, their life cycles, characteristics and more!
This teacher-created collection includes a series of animal-focused teacher resources covering reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, and amphibians plus resources that classify a selection of vertebrates and invertebrates!
This comprehensive collection of teaching resources includes editable curriculum-aligned lessons on wildlife, endangered species and more — all ready to be printed and used in the classroom!
New to teaching this section of the science curriculum or looking for some fresh ideas? Read on for some tips on teaching about animal classification from our teacher team!
What Is Animal Classification? A Kid-Friendly Definition
In science class (and in professional study) animals are classified into groups based on physical and genetic characteristics. Scientists use a classification system called the Linnaean system to group different animals into progressively more specific categories, starting with the largest (and most inclusive group) and ending with the smallest and most specific group.
The categories are:
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Helping students to remember these categories of biological animal classification, you might want to use a mnemonic such as:
- King Philip came over from Germany swimming.
- King Philip came over for good spaghetti.
- King Philip came over for good soup.
Sometimes the word "domain" is added to the top of the animal classification list, and in those cases you can add the word "dear" to your mnemonic sentences to help your students recall them all.
In the Linnaean system, every animal in nature is assigned a unique scientific name. The name includes their genus and species and it's used globally to refer to that animal — so, for example, a dog is a dog, but it's also a "canis lupus familiarise" according to its scientific name.
The animal classification system is used all around the world to help scientists understand the relationships between different animals and how they evolved over time.
Teaching About Animal Classification in Elementary School
How in-depth should your lesson planning be for animal classification? In the elementary grades, learning classifications of animals sets the stage for understanding how important this system is when scientists are studying animals in the natural world.
Consider this: In elementary school, students typically learn about the basic categories of animal classification, such as mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
Your animal classification lessons can extend into learning about specific examples of animals within each category, such as lions and elephants for mammals, and eagles and penguins for birds.
By the time they head off to high school, students should already know the characteristics that define each group — such as the presence of fur or feathers (in birds) or most mammals' ability to give birth to live young. Students should also know about the classification of animals within each group, such as the different types of mammals or birds.
Ready to get started? Explore the resources in this collection!
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Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Learn about the physical adaptations of the polar bear with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 3rd grade.
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Would You Rather? Animal Adaptations Game
Discuss and debate the best animal adaptations with the Would You Rather? Animal Adaptation game.
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Animal Blubber Experiment - Polar Adaptations Activity
Explores the structural adaptation of blubber with an Arctic Animal Adaptation experiment..
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Monarch Butterfly Migration Map
Use a Monarch Butterfly Migration map to introduce your students to a natural phenomenon of migratory animal behavior.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations Flipbook
Use this fun flipbook to teach students about adaptations while allowing them to connect to prior knowledge by answering questions on each page.
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Biome Food Web - Anchor Charts
Learn how energy flows through food webs in different biomes with this set of classroom anchor charts.
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Animals and Their Habitats- Interactive Activity
Help a lost polar bear (and his friends) return to the correct habitat with a Google Slides interactive activity.
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Life Cycles – Worksheet
Give your students an opportunity to compare, observe, and draw different life cycles with this worksheet.
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The Butterfly Life Cycle Sentence Strips
A booklet of the life cycle of a butterfly.
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Informative Writing - Animal Research Task
Use a printable animal research organizer booklet for students to record facts about animals when learning to write informative texts.
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Poison Dart Frog Adaptations – 4th Grade Reading Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of a poison dart frog with printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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Animal Adaptations Foldables - Shutter Card Templates
Write and draw about the behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations of animals from around the world with a set of fun printable shutter card templates.
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Animal Adaptations - Structural Adaptation Posters
Highlight some physical adaptations of animals with a printable set of labeled anchor chart.
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Parts of an Animal Body - Labeling Worksheets
Examine and identify animal body parts with printable ‘Label the Animal’ activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
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Is It Inherited or Acquired? Traits Worksheets
Introduce your students to inherited and acquired traits with printable basic genetics worksheets for elementary grades.
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Survival Spotlight - Physical Adaptations Animal Riddle Worksheets
Shine a spotlight on animal adaptations and solve riddles with printable animal adaptation riddle worksheets.
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Desert Animal Adaptations - Trading Card Templates
Discover amazing desert animals’ adaptations and display your learning with printable animal trading card templates.
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Facts About Insects Poster
Display this poster showcasing interesting insect facts and characteristics in your classroom.
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Ocean & Marine Word Wall Vocabulary
64 marine life word wall vocabulary cards.
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What Could Happen? Environmental Change Task Cards
Predict and identify the effects of environmental change on plants and animals with a set of printable science task cards.
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Animals With Adaptations - Worksheet Pack
Use these animal adaptation worksheets when teaching students about the structural, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of animals.
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Animals and Their Habitats - Sorting Activity
Discover the habitats that are home to Earth’s wildlife with a printable animal habitat sorting activity.
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Butterfly Life Cycle Poster and Worksheet
An educational poster and worksheet about the stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
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Identify Nonliving and Living Things - Printables
Download a pack of Living or Nonliving? Printables to help your students differentiate between living and nonliving organisms.
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Characteristics of Living Things - Science Worksheets
Identify the common characteristics of different animals and animal classes with a pack of printable Animal Class Characteristic Worksheets.
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Echidna Adaptations – Reading Worksheet Pack
Discover the adaptations of the echidna with a printable reading passage and comprehension worksheet pack.
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Kangaroo Adaptations – Reading Comprehension PDF Worksheets
Discover amazing kangaroo adaptations with a printable Reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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Vertebrate or Invertebrate? Game
Have fun classifying vertebrates and invertebrates with an exciting Google Slides Interactive Science Game!
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Inherited and Acquired Characteristics - Worksheet Pack
Determine if animal features and characteristics are inherited or acquired traits with an engaging Animal Traits Cut and Paste Worksheet Pack.
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Animal Traits and Behaviors Anchor Charts
Help your students differentiate between inherited and acquired traits, instincts, and learned behaviors with a printable science anchor chart and note-taking organizer.
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Platypus Adaptations - Reading Passage & Questions
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the platypus with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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2nd Grade Reading Passage & Worksheet- Being a Good Pet Parent
Print a 2nd grade reading comprehension passage and worksheet to teach comprehension skills and learn about being a good pet parent by limiting pets' impact on ecosystems.